Nu Couché (Reclining Nude) was sold in New York after a protracted bidding battle to a buyer who wished to remain anonymous, according to the auction house.

The 1917-18 painting had the highest pre-sale estimate of any lot in the three sales by the major auction houses of Impressionist, modern, postwar and contemporary art.

The painting became the tenth work of art to sell for more than $100 million at auction, and was nearly joined by Roy Lichtenstein's 1964 Nurse, which sold for $95.3 million on Monday night, smashing the previous record for a work by the pop artist.